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The 2012 Who Do You Think You Are? Live show at Olympia is now becoming a bit of a distant memory but it is worth reviewing this year’s show and previous years. We have now been at several of the shows and have seen how it has developed into biggest fixture in the genealogy and family history world. JGSGB went to the first ever show and we were quite astounded by the level of interest in Jewish Genealogy. People came to us with details of an ancestor who was or might have been Jewish, anxious to find out if they were. Others came with detailed family trees wanting to know how to take things backwards into Europe. The level of interest in Jewish genealogy at the show did not diminish after the first show. We have found more and more people visiting our stand each year, with the queries mainly being of the same type.

After the first show, we decided to have tables rather than a big stand, making it easier to afford to attend. We also now have a set location at the show, which on the face of it doesn’t seem that promising – in a corner away from the majority of other societies and the away from the entrance – however, it is right next to the entrance of one of the main toilets and next to the Pizza Express outlet. This guarantees a lot of passing traffic!

The JGSGB approach to being at WDYTYA? Live has always been proactive. We don’t wait for the people visiting our stand to initiate contact, we ask open questions like “do you have any Jewish ancestors?”, “is there any specific area you are looking for ancestors in?”, or simply “can we help you?”. This approach means that we can help people who have very little idea of where to start with researching Jewish ancestry. It also gives us an opportunity to sell the benefits of joining JGSGB or buying one of our Jewish Ancestors Guides (www.jgsgb.org.uk/catalog/shop). We also provide a lot of verbal information and do on-line searches there and then. There are lots of funny enquiries, if we had a pound for every time someone asked, in all innocence, “do you think my ancestor was Jewish? He/she had a a large nose and dark skin.”, we would make a lot of money. This is something that we might take offence at but the enquirers are very sincere about finding out if they have Jewish roots. A lot of time is spent letting people down gently by explaining that their ancestor probably wasn’t Jewish, even with a first name like Benjamin or a last name like Isaacs. Quite a few people go away disappointed at not having Jewish ancestors. What we are doing is educating people about what makes someone Jewish and how to establish the fact through vital records.

The stand is staffed by JGSGB members on a rota basis. The volunteers get the chance to use their knowledge and experience to help visitors to our stand. We also get the opportunity to explore interesting Jewish genealogies, working with the person to find areas that will take their search forward. It has been very useful for me personally to learn on the spot where to find specific records and useful websites. It is also an opportunity to be able to use knowledge gained from attending JGSGB educational events and talks and also the International Conferences to help people.

JGSGB manages to recruit about 20 new members at each show and also sell dozens of guides and also other people’s books about Jewish genealogy and history.

There is a lot of work done in preparing for the show, most of it falling on the shoulders of JGSGB Stand Manager, Jeanette Rosenberg, and then the physical setting up, falling a lot on my shoulders and one or two others. After a few years doing it we now have it down to a fine art!

It is worth the effort, as we cover our costs and make a little profit on top, and more importantly, we get to help so many people. JGSGB will be at the show again on 2013. Hope to see you there.

One of our members is looking into the background of some cousins who were Egyptian Jews living in Cairo and were directly descended from the famous chief rabbi of Baghdad, Rabbi Eliyahu Mani (died 1899).

Our member is at present trying to find the ketubah of the marriage of Dr. Baruch Mani (personal physician to the King of Egypt), and his first wife, Fortunee Mani. This marriage took place in Cairo probably in The Great Synagogue in 1919.

Would anybody know where the Jewish marriage records, including ketubah records, of Cairo Jewry of that period were kept? And where would one find such records today if indeed they still exist?

The advice so far received is that unfortunately the marriage records in Cairo are now considered the property of the Egyptian state and Jews are not permitted access. A very sore point…. Yves Fedida <fedida@mac.com> is the expert on this subject. Also Alain Farhi alain@farhi.orgwho has an extensive genealogical records of Jews from Egypt (Les Fleurs d’Orient website)

As has been mentioned before in our blog, one of the many benefits of membership of the JGSGB is JGSGB Discuss. This discussion group is only open to members.

JSGB Discuss was approached by one of our members for help in his research of the Ostroff Family. Martin Korn is trying to fill in some gaps in the Ostroff Family Tree (which had started with Isaac Ostroff who lived in Birzhi, Lithuaniaand now commences with Isaac’s father Judel).

Any information at all that you can give Martin would really be much appreciated. If you are able to assist, please contact him at martin.korn@btinternet.com.

Starting from the lower part of the tree and working upwards these are the queries:

1 Rivke OSTROFF (known as ‘Annie’), daughter of Tzvi Hersch Bainish (Benjamin) OSTROFF and Etta BORUCHOWITSCH, was born on 26 March 1889 in Bauska,Latvia. On 2 April 1911 she was resident inMileEndOldTown. She was a Cigarette Maker. She would have been Martin’s great aunt. He knew all the other 4 siblings of his grandmother (not Rev Isaac OSTROFF who died in 1933). Martin asks for details of marriage, children and further descendants.

2 Tzvi Hersch Bainish (Benjamin) OSTROFF, son of Isaac OSTROFF, was born in 1854 in Birzhi, Ponevezh district, Kovno province,Lithuania. He married Etta BORUCHOWITSCH on 26 March 1875 in Bauska, Latvia.In 1910 he was resident in Bauska. He was a Peddler and flax producer. He died inRussia.

His brother was Theodore (Tanchum Leib) OSTROFF son of Isaac OSTROFF, born in 1862 in Bauska. He was a Rabbi. On 2 April 1911 he was resident in Mile End Old Town, London. He married Gertrude Rifka Gittel FREEDMAN in Bauska. He died on 13 September 1930 in Jerusalem. He was buried on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.

The Latvian State Archives show that Tzvi Hersch Bainish OSTROFF and Theodore (Tanchum Leib)OSTROFF had a sister, Rocha (Rochel)-Jenta OSTROV, born in 1859 in Birzhi. She married Raphel- Beines OSTROV on 18 September 1879 in Riga,Latvia. They appeared in the census in 1887 in Birzhi.

Raphel-Beines OSTROV, son of Mowscha OSTROV and Shora OSTROV , was born in 1855 (approx) in Ponevezh district, Kovno province, Lithuania. He was a Shoemaker. He and Rocha (Rochel)-Jenta OSTROV had the following children:

Only one grandchild of Rocha (Rochel)-Jenta OSTROV and Raphel-Beines OSTROV has been found in the records, Abram, son of Khane Pere OSTROV. He was born on 10 July 1899 in Kaunas,Lithuania. He died of “unripeness “ on 8 August 1899 in Kaunus.

Martin is asking for further details of Rocha-Jenta OSTROV and her children and further descendents. Also details of any other siblings of Tzvi Hersch Bainish (Benjamin) OSTROFF and Theodore (Tanchum Leib) OSTROFF and their descendents.

3 Judel OSTROFF was the father of Isaac Ostroff and grandfather of Tzvi Hersch Bainish (Benjamin)OSTROFF, Theodore (Tanchum Leib) OSTROFF and Rocha (Rochel)-Jenta OSTROV. Martin is asking for further details of any siblings of Judel OSTROFF and their descendants.

Martin and his family would appreciate any information at all which anyone can give them on the three queries raised and also generally with regard to this Ostroff family.

The JGSGB is taking it’s message out to the wider community by taking part in a number of events.

February 24-26
Who Do You Think You Are (WDYTYA) Live takes place at Olympia, London. This is the biggest family history event in the world. Once again the JGSGB will be there. You can find us on stands 141 & 142. For more information go to: www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com

March 18

Jewish Living Expo takes place at Wembley Stadium. This will be a very large communal exhibition with “Everything for everyone Jewish”. The Expo will cover many different aspects of Jewish life, and will include educational workshops. JGSGB will be giving a brief talk on genealogy at 5.00 p.m. in one of the Wembley Boxes.

July 28

Buckinghamshire Family History Society will be holding its Annual Open Day at The Grange School,Wendover Way,Aylesbury,HP21 7NH. This is a free event with something for everyone. The Chiltern Regional Group of the JGSGB has again been invited to take part and is seeking support from three or four more JGSGB members for this entirely enjoyable day. It is an opportunity to gain valuable exposure for the Society and for the Chilterns Regional Group in particular. Anyone willing to help should contact Stan Rose via stan@stanrosefamily.com

The JGSGB (Jewish Genealogy Society of Great Britain) is hosting a specially-convened meeting on Thursday 23rd February 2012 – the evening before Who Do You Think You Are Live! – to hear Daniel Horowitz speak on genealogical resources in Latin America (Jewish or not). His review will cover institutions, temples, burial societies, cemeteries, citizenship records, immigration and computer databases that can be used online. The talk will start at 7.30pm at 33 Seymour Place W1 and is free to members. Non-members, who are warmly welcomed, will pay £5 at the door. Entry will be by advance reservation only, which can be made by email to education@JGSGB.org.uk.

Daniel Horowitz is a very experienced genealogist, researcher and lecturer with over twenty years’ experience in the field and whose work has received many awards in Venezuela and in Israel. Now Chief Genealogist at MyHeritage.com, the online webware and software specialist, his deep understanding of the needs of today’s family history enthusiasts serves the company, its customers, and his audiences well. He also holds a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering.

Well Conference time is coming up very soon, so don’t forget to book your place.

It’s the 18th Annual JGSGB London Conference and Genealogical Fair which is being held on Sunday 30th October 2011 at 33 Seymour Place, London, W1H 5AU.

The Conference runs from 10.00am until 4.30pm and includes morning refreshments, lunch and afternoon tea with 5 sessions and time to look round the exhibitors. All this for the very small sum of £30.00.

Sessions at the Conference include:

The London Gazette 1665 – 2011

The changing face of Genealogical Research in Lithuania

The Knowles Collection and other ways to find your ancestors through Family Search

Jewish patients in Colney Hatch Asylum and the National Hospital

An Jewish East End journey – from the East London Christian Mission to the Hebrews to the Jewish East End Celebration Society

Once you have booked your place, you will be automatically entered into a draw for a FREE one-year Ancestry Worldwide subscription.

So, if you are going to be in London on 30th October, then there is only one place to be – The JGSGB Conference

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain has recently revised and reprinted its publication “A Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Lithuania” and this is now available for purchase through the JGSGB website. To order a copy of this up to date guide to researching family in Lithuania simply go to: http://www.jgsgb.org.uk/catalog/shop and add the Guide to your shopping basket.

The author of the Guide is Sam Aaron, a long-standing JGSGB member and a leading light in Lithuanian Jewish Genealogy. Sam will be speaking about Lithuanian research at the JGSGB London conference on 30 October.

The Lithuanian Guide provides clear information about how records were organised and what levels of government the records were collected at and where they can now be found. There are details of the way various first and last names worked in Lithuania, which is an invaluable piece of information when trying to reconcile the names that people used in different situations – in Hebrew, in official records, as nicknames and so on.

Continuing with a look at the of Benefits of Membership, we cannot ignore JGSGB – Discuss.

The objectives of the Discussion Group are to:
* help one another to learn and discover more about Jewish genealogy, research methods and resources.
* share information and resources amongst Members.
* facilitate establishing contact with Members researching the same families or the same geographical areas.
* promote the activities of the JGSGB.

This Group is run for the benefit of the Members of JGSGB. Only members of JGSGB may join the Group. There is no separate charge to participate in this Group. The Group is appropriate for both beginner and experienced genealogist alike. The scope of this Discussion Group is global to support the global research interests of our members.

The list is “moderated” by a Moderator whose role is to keep the discussions on track and not let them get cluttered with irrelevant, inappropriate or personal messages of no interest to the general readership.

There is no obligation to post any messages and members are welcome to just read and enjoy the messages. However, by actively participating and posting messages, you may get one of your problems solved or perhaps help a fellow Member to solve one of their problems.

I feel the time has come to let everyone know about the unsung work that the JGSGB and its members provide.

I would like to congratulate, member and Past Chairman, Laurence Harris for his
part in the WDYTYA programme on Larry Lamb and his grandmother’s conversion to Judaism. I should also add some congratulations to another JGSGB member, Miriam Rodrigues-Pereira for her part in the first programme of the current series. Miriam appeared in the June Brown (Dot from Eastenders) episode in her role as archivist to Bevis Marks synagogue.

Some other praise should also be given to those who helped Wall to Wall Productions in the background. Not least, JGSGB’s Genealogical Enquiries officer, Rosemary Hoffman, who spent two hours at the end of last year talking to the company’s researchers about the conversion process and other issues featured in the Larry Lamb episode.

JGSGB receives several requests for help with researching television programmes each year and we help them by providing background information, finding out facts or by recommending researchers.

In Part 4 of Benefits of Membership, we dealt with the various Special Interest Groups (SIG). We will now deal with the Regional Groups (RG). Meetings of these groups are free to members of JGSGB but a charge will be made to non members which will be offset against any future subscription to the Society.

There are seven Regional Groups, which cater for those who are unable to get to our Central London location.

The Chilterns Regional Group, serving the Home counties to the North and West of London, covers members residing in the counties of Herts, Middlesex, Bucks, Beds and Berks. Regular genealogical meetings are held in the Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, in Oaklands Gate, Northwood, on five weekday evenings and two Sunday afternoons during the year. All areas of Jewish Family Research are covered including a series of 30 minute Tutorials on Jewish Internet Research preceding the main evening programme.The events vary from genealogical workshops, to give attendees the opportunity to discuss their own researches, to PowerPoint Presentations with expert speakers from both within and outside the Society.

The East of London Regional Group is based in Redbridge, Essex and meetings are held on Monday evenings, every three months, at Ilford Synagogue, 22 Beehive Lane, Gants Hill. We try to cover every aspect of Jewish genealogy and our meetings are not restricted to local research but worldwide. Each meeting contains items of interest for both new family researchers and the more experienced genealogists. This is very much a self-help activity and although so much is now available on the internet we enjoy bringing people together and putting them in touch with each other. We try to provide guest speakers who are able to give informed information regarding source material.

The Leeds Regional Group, has around 30 members, some living in Leeds and the rest spread around the rest of Yorkshire. It aims to hold four events a year, a mixture of talks, workshops and visits. The next meeting will be on Monday 5th Sept., at 8pm at the UHC Synagogue, Shadwell Lane, LS17 8DW. This is jointly hosted by the Leeds Branch of the Jewish Historical Society and is a talk by Dr Nicholas Evans on “Jews at Sea – from the Haim to Luxury Cruises”. The final meeting this year will be in the afternoon of Sunday 27th Nov., at Sinai Synagogue, Roman Ave., LS8 2AN.

The Manchester Regional Group has its own library of about 150 books and a large selection of files, information sheets and booklets for research.. We also have information booklets on adoption, Liverpool Jewish archives, Manchester Jewish archives as well as some information on Leeds Jewry. We have several members who are experienced in a wide field of research. In addition to our wealth of resource material, we have a laptop computer and printer, with a good selection of databases on CDs. A few of our committee members bring their own laptops with internet access, so that websites can be viewed and tutorials take place on how to work your way through the maze of information. We hold regular workshops so that researchers can work on a one-to-one basis with our more experienced members.

The Midland Regional Group is a new venture and so far has held only one meeting on Sunday 13th March 2011. They intend holding their next meeting on Sunday 18th September and a mid-week afternoon meeting later in the year. All meetings at Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, 1 Roseland Way, Birmingham, B15 1HD. Any JGSGB member is welcome, the Midland title was only chosen because Central England or Mercia might have been misunderstood and none will be turned away.

The South East Essex Regional Group is based in Southend on Sea, Essex and meetings are held at Finchley Road Synagogue Westcliff. Whilst it is a new group the membership covers the range of genealogy from novice to many years of experience.
Members aim to help each other by sharing information and offering ideas to help breakdown brickwalls. We will provide regular meetings where members can network and share information as well as providing interesting guest speakers. We have close links with the Essex Family History Society and will share advice and experience with them whenever needed.

The South West London Regional Group was set up in the summer of 1999 when a trawl was done through the membership list, an invitation went out, and about fourteen strangers met in a very small flat in Richmond. Talk was fast and furious, we delved into a box of books on loan from the JGS library, one or two people with more knowledge of computers than the rest gave some helpful advice and offered some local hands-on-training; some people turned out to be experienced genealogists and others absolute beginners; queries, advice and suggestions were traded — and thus was set the pattern for the meetings which have been held regularly ever since, at roughly 3-monthly intervals.

In Part 3 of Benefits of Membership, I mentioned that one of these was Members Corner on our website. Under this, there are two items. The second of these is “Details of the various Special Interest Groups (SIG) Details of the Regional Groups (RG)”. Meetings of these groups are free to members of JGSGB but a charge will be made to non members which will be offset against any future subscription to the Society.

Starting first with the SIG’s, there are four groups:

Anglo-Jewry SIG – If your interests lie in Anglo-Jewry this Special Interest Group is for you. Our very enthusiastic members meet three or four times a year, under the chairmanship of Doreen Berger, to discuss their individual researches and to both receive and impart adviAnglo-Jewry SIG ce. The meetings are friendly and informal and it is usual for one of our members to give a short presentation on the progress of their own research. You will be able to socialise with other members over tea and biscuits and the Library is opened at the end of the meeting. Beginners are particularly welcome.

German SIG – Are you researching German-speaking ancestors? Would you like to start, but don’t know where to begin or have you reached a ‘brick wall’ or just want to share information? Novices, intermediate and experienced researchers are all welcome at the German Special Interest Group. Our coverage includes other German-speaking areas such as Austria, parts of Switzerland, Alsace, Lorraine, Bohemia and Moravia.
The Group meets quarterly, under the chairmanship of Jeanette Rosenberg, it has over 100 members with a core group of about 20 who attend meetings regularly.

Dutch & Sephardi SIG – Under the Chairmanship of Raymond Montanjes it was decided to combine the Dutch SIG with the Society’s dormant Sephardi group. As there is only a small Dutch Sephardi interest within the JGS – the majority of the Dutch researchers being Dutch Ashkenazim – the Sephardim were not being catered for at all. 3-4 meetings per annum are held. The ever welcome and very helpful ” ’round the table ” session, follow the talks. This is where we offer our researched names, dates and stories – plus any new research tools and general genealogical know how that is of use to all. Attendees provide their names, contact addresses, and general “wants”. A list is produced for each member. Cousins – some sitting in the same room – have found each other.

Eastern European SIG - Under the Chairmanship of Raymond Montanjes This has developed in a similar way to the Dutch & Sephardi group. The only difference is that it splits into 3 main groups. Polish, Lithuania/Estonian Litvak – where the South Africans are catered for – and Romanian. There is always someone from the membership in attendance, to help out with other smaller Eastern European region researches, such as the Ukraine and other Baltic regions.

The IAJGS Conference has now been over for nearly a week but we are still here in Washington and finding links back to the conference. We are also, of course, experiencing some ground-breaking events (well more ground-shaking).

Coming to Washington we already knew that we would be meeting relatives who live in the area in social settings. So, after the conference, we spent the weekend at two different houses with two sets of Jeanette’s relatives from either side of her family. One set live in Virginia and the other in Maryland. We were treated really well, as guests at the family homes. Having the chance to talk to not only the fellow genealogists in the families but their brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins is one of the great outcomes of genealogy. We see parts of other countries we would never experience on a holiday and meet and make friends with people we would probably not come across either. Jewish genealogy almost always means making links with living cousins, no matter how distantly related, and developing long-lasting relationships with them.

Following our weekend socialising we began to finally have a go at seeing more of Washington DC than the vicinity of the hotel. So we went on a sightseeing trip on an open top bus. The trip also included a boat trip up and down the Potomac River, which runs through DC. We saw a lot of the older parts of Washington DC and many of the key historic sights. But as genealogists, we could not leave the research side of things alone for too long. So our lunch was at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, followed by a visit to the Museum’s library. Once in the library we started to look at the records and books available for a branch of Jeanette’s family. The Museum’s resources are enormous , so more than an afternoon was needed for the research. While in the Museum we saw four other people from the Washington conference, two people from Australia who Jeanette had spoken to during the week, one person with a conference bag who we didn’t recognise and finally another conference delegate doing research in the library. So we were not alone in not being able to leave the research alone.

The following day, Tuesday, Jeanette went to the Holocaust Museum again to do research and I went off to be a tourist and see some of the cultural side of the USA’s capital. Little did we know how the day was going to go when we went our separate ways. The morning was uneventful but just before 2 p.m. we experienced our first earthquake. A 5.9 earthquake on the Richter Scale happened in Virginia and sent shockwaves through Washington DC. I was in the Museum of American History and experienced a slight movement of the floor and saw displays wobble. Jeanette was in the Holocaust Museum and exprienced a much longer shaking of the building. We were evacuated from the buildings, along with the thousands of other visitors and many thousands of Federal staff. The streets were lined with people as I made my way back to the Holocaust Museum to meet up with Jeanette. The mobile phone network was severely disrupted and I could not get hold of Jeanette, so I had to try and find her in the crowds. Eventually, we met up and were able to make our way back to the hotel. Who says genealogy isn’t full of excitement!

Today was far more normal and Jeanette once again went to the museum to continue her research. This included looking at the 1938/39 German minority census records on microfilm to find details of relatives recorded in them. The details of many relatives have been extracted and will be included in the family tree. It is a great pity that such records have to be used to find out about relatives.

I think we are now both looking forward to getting back to the UK, as it seems an age since we were there.

I do hope that people have enjoyed the blog about the Washington DC IAJGS conference and are inspired enough to continue their research or even start their family tree.

Databases & Browsable Lists (a variety of Members only databases and searchable lists)

Details of the various Special Interest Groups (SIG) Details of the Regional Groups (RG)

Shemot Our award winning journal published 3/4 times a year. Shemot contains a variety of articles of interest to genealogists, book reviews, abstracts of overseas genealogical articles, practical research tips and useful addresses

We all owe a big thank you to our Chairman, Mark Nicholls, for finding the time, in his busy schedule at the IAJGS Conference in Washington, to file so many posts on our new Blog. Hopefully when Mark is home he will find time to post a review of his time in Washington.

Also a big thank you to Mark and Jeanette for flying the flag for the JGSGB at the Conference.

Well it is now down to me to make sure that I keep the posts going. So watch this space.

Well the conference has now come to an end and everyone has started making their weary ways back to their home towns and cities around the world. Most will be going back to their home US state, I am sure every state was represented here; others will be going to Canada, Australia, Germany, France, and many other countries. The UK contingent has also mostly left, just Jeanette and I are still here in the hotel, others have gone to see cousins and family in the States or gone off to the airport. Goodbyes have been said to friends both old and new and the last physical vestiges of the conferences have evaporated away. However, the memory of it all will always remain.

There was one more piece of news from last night that happened after the blog had been written. Michael Tobias, a long-standing JGSGB member and also a Vice-President of JewishGen received the IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award for all his work in setting up the various JewishGen databases such as the JewishGen Family Finder – that indispensable tool for finding your cousins. JGSGB had nominated Michael for the award but unfortunately, I did not go to the Gala dinner where he received the award. However, I did get to see him afterwards and was able to offer him JGSGB’s congratulations. Michael has also done an incredible amount of work for JGSGB on our databases and records over the years and for that alone I feel he deserves the award. Well done Michael.

Today’s events were much shorter, as they came to an end at 12.15 with the final two presentations. I spent the first part of the morning helping one of the conference organisers, Sue Isman, with trying to trace the birth records for her family in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. They proved to be most elusive, with no combinations of search terms being able to through out a record. Only one birth for a child in Birmingham, Warwickshire came up. Hopefully, Sue will have better luck with them when she has time to take a longer look. I should say a very big thank you to all of the conference organisers at this stage for having put on a very excellent event. The complexity of an IAJGS conference cannot be underestimated at all, nor can the capacity of delegates to find fault. The stress and strain of running the conference is enormous. So thank you to the three conference co-chairs Marlene Katz Bishow, Vic Cohen and Sue Isman for a wonderful time.

The final session that I attended was on mapping again, as I like looking at maps and atlases and have done since I was a small boy. The presentation showed the value of old maps in undertaking research, particularly maps such as cadastral maps. Cadastral maps are detailed plans of towns and villages mostly which show who owned what land and houses or lived in the houses. The equivalent in the UK would be tithe maps. Most of these maps were produced in the Austro-Hungarian empire. The presenter then moved on to the Rumsey maps, which were mentioned in the Google Earth presentation yesterday. David Rumsey is a map collector – he has 250,000 of them! – and his own map library. He has put 28,000 of these maps on-line using high-resolution images. They can be seen at www.davidrumsey.com as well as on Google Earth. He was also put the maps into the website called Second Life, where it is possible to move over and through the maps and dip into them. The effects are incredible and David Rumsey produced a 20-minute lecture on his work in Second Life. I wasn’t sure how you access the Second Life video but If I find out I will try and remember to let you know too. The Rumsey maps cover many places all over the world and the software used allows all sorts of ways of viewing them. Have a look and see how wonderful the maps are.

I hope that this blog series about the IAJGS conference has whetted the appetite of many of its readers to go to an IAJGS conference. For the UK-based readers there will be a really great opportunity to do so next year, as it is being held in Paris from 15 to 18 July. The conference will be bilingual, so no need to be fluent in French, though the ability to say s’il vous plait and merci will be helpful. Take a look at the conference website at http://www.paris2012.eu/. It looks like a really exciting event, just as this one has been.

So here is to another year and meeting old friends and making yet more new friends. But most of all, to learning and knowledge.

I should now explain that I am writing this part of the blog at 11.50 p.m., as we moved from the discussion on involving younger people to a social event being run by JewishGen. More on this later. Please read the previous post first, as this post will not make that much sense (do any of them I wonder).

So, the UK-SIG meeting continued with information about the revamped JGSGB website and the various new and updated sections on it. Again, I showed two new databases in the members area on the website. These were the Colney Hatch Asylum Records and the The Royal London Hospital (Endowments) databases. The first database is a transcription of the records from an asylum that many Jewish people were sent to due to mental health problems. The records show the name, age and location the patient lived at and also the basic details of the illness. This database will be put on JCR-UK in a few month’s time for public use, as will the Royal London Hospital records. The full details of any patient’s record will only be available on application to JGSGB, as the information in them can be very distressing. The other database showed a different side of Jewish communal life, with details of the people who provided financial and active support for a hospital.

The rest of the UK-SIG meeting involved a run through of the many different sorts of records and websites available to do research in the UK. The website addresses will be sent to people who asked for them, along with any that Laurence Harris will mention in his talk tomorrow morning (now actually this morning). I think that the audience got some useful information to take away from the SIG meeting, and I hope that some will join JGSGB having seen what we do.

So a very busy morning was over but much more had yet to happen. First, Jeanette and I went to lunch in the Grand Slam bar in the hotel. This is a sports bar with a burger and bar food menu. The quality of the food is quite good and the service is excellent. We have now eaten there three or so times. The Manager of the bar is called Eric and is a nice guy. Today, Eric paid for our lunch, which was really unexpected and very welcomed. After lunch we went back down to the conference area to get ready for the afternoon’s events. However, I felt really tired at this point and decided to go back to the room for an hour’s sleep. This was a good move given the rest of the day that was to follow.

The reason for only having an hour’s sleep was that at 3.45 p.m. it was Jeanette’s really big moment at the conference. Jeanette was to deliver her first full presentation on German Jewish genealogy at an IAJGS conference. The topic was about what was changing in German archives and how the changes impacted on genealogy. I cannot really go into detail about the presentation as it involved a lot of German words and many of them far too long for a inclusion in a blog, even as long as this one. The room was packed, with some people having to stand up throughout. Lots of the people there knew Jeanette well, others were experts in their own right. The whole thing must have been very daunting for Jeanette, given the audience but she did not show it and delivered probably the best talk that I have ever seen her do. The subject was technical and complicated but she pulled it off brilliantly. So far everyone I have spoken to has been impressed by what Jeanette did.

No sooner had Jeanette delivered her talk than we were off to do the next thing. This was a reception for the donors to the GerSig speaker fund. We had to go and get the food and drink from our room where it was being stored, take it to a suite on the first floor and set up ready to receive the guests who had contributed to bringing Gerhard Buck to the USA. I was the barman and photographer for this event. Now I had a chance to relax and have a drink as well – very much needed to keep going. Jeanette also had a chance to simply socialise with her fellow GerSiggers, including her GerSig “sister” Nancy Adelson, with whom she had been working for months on preparing the SIG’s events at the conference. So then we finished the reception and cleared up before moving back to the conference floors for the JewishGen presentation – see part 1 of today’s blog. Sorry if it is confusing time wise – just think how confused we are.

So, now more on the JewishGen social event. This was a chance for those that contribute to the JewishGen website in many ways to meet and to talk about genealogy issues and also to get to know each other that little bit better. I was able to talk with some of the JewishGen and IAJGS key people about issues that affect JGSGB and also to find out more about them personally. So now another 50 minutes has elapsed and it approaching 12.45 a.m. so I have to go to bed. After all there is yet another early start this morning – a GerSig breakfast and Q&A session – luckily, I can sit back a bit during the Q&A, Jeanette on the other hand has to answer all those questions…….

Today I am writing the blog during an evening session on the generational issues in genealogy, which started at 8.00 p.m. Young genealogists are talking about how they have got involved in family history research ad also suggesting ways in which younger people can be involved. These include getting children or young adults to help with the technology side of doing research or setting up a Facebook page to draw in the younger generation.

The session before was all about JewishGen developments, which included news about additions to the JewishGen records and also about changes to databases – www.jewishgen.org. The biggest news was that Shtetllinks was being renamed to KehilaLinks. Kehila is Hebrew for community and the decision was taken to use this rather than shtetl because shtetl had mainly Eastern European connotations, but the dataset included communities in places like the USA, UK, Germany and so on. The JewishGen education offering was increasing, including a course on navigating the JewishGen website. Screencast videos about JewishGen were also now available. The JewishGen databases now included 20 million records. The JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) has 90,000 researchers looking at 119,000 different family names. We were told that JewishGen was doing more to unify the spelling of place names, including changing Vashincktin DeSea to Washington DC.

The JewishGen ShtetlLinks database was being renamed the JewishGen Gazetter, for the same reasons the Shtetlseeker was being renamed. The number of countries covered would be moving from 45 to 54 and encompass over 1 million places. The JewishGen resource mapping facility for each community with Jewish people in it had also been improved. There were many other facts and information provided in the presentation which I haven’t the space to include here. I will make a more detailed report separately to JGSGB Members.

I have started with the end of the day, rather than the beginning because it has been the longest, busiest and most exhausting day so far. We started at 7.30 a.m. preparing for the UK-SIG Q&A session that started at 8.00 a.m. This was a chance for people to ask our UK experts direct questions about their research problems. We had seven experts who helped about thirty people with resolving problems. We also had the chance to promote JGSGB publications and events.

Immediately after the Q&A we had to get the room ready for the GerSig meeting that Jeanette was chairing and I was taking the note of. The GerSig meeting had a very large audience and they heard about many developments in the world of German Jewish genealogy, including the launch of the Name Adoption database, which records the details from name adoption lists where Jews in Germany were required to take last names instead of patronymic names. There were also other research projects discussed and volunteers were signed up for transcribing and organising the projects. Taking the note reminded me of my previous occupation as Head of Secretariat taking notes of board meetings – I thought I had left all that behind.

Once the GerSig meeting finished there had to be yet another quick changeover in the meeting room to get ready for the UK-SIG meeting. Thank you to the conference organisers for putting all the meetings in the same room! The UK-SIG meeting had fewer attendees than the GerSig meeting but that reflects the different nature of migration from Europe to the USA and the UK. Few people in the USA, Canada and many other countries have family in the UK and if they did they may have only stopped off here for a few years. Even so we had a reasonable audience for my presentation on the JCR-UK and JGSGB websites and new developments. I explained that there were a few new databases on JCR-UK, including the Gorbals Public School database and the Wolverhampton community records. The Gorbals Public School database is based on the pupil admissions to the school between 1885 and 1905 and has details of most of the Jewish pupils in that period. The details of the pupils included their names, dates of birth, parent or guardian, address, date of entry to the school, their last school and date of leaving plus the reason for leaving. I showed how the information could be used to fill in information about migration, birth in another country, reconstruct families and so on. There are many of these registers in archives around the UK and some others are on-line such as one from Hull on the JCR-UK website.

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) promotes and encourages the study of Jewish genealogy. We assist all those tracing the family history of their Jewish ancestors. We encourage Jewish genealogical education and research and promote the indexing, transcription and preservation of old records.
We are a non profit making, non-denominational charity, and our members include both beginners and experienced genealogists.
The membership subscription allows the Society to purchase books and periodicals for its library, subscribe to Ancestry for research on the computers in the library, maintain the website and purchase IT equipment and other resources necessary to help in family history research. It also entitles its members to

attend members’ MEETINGS on a wide variety of family history topics, plus local “Regional Group” meetings and Special Interest Group Meetings (for example Eastern Europe, Anglo-Jewish, Sephardi etc.)

use the LIBRARY & RESOURCE CENTRE with more that 1,000 books and periodicals, computers, Data CDs and access to major genealogical online databases, family tree collections and a unique collection of Yizkor (community remembrance books)